One of my best friends gave me a gift certificate for a massage as a birthday present. It took me about three months to finally schedule it. I never realized what I was missing. I just loved it. I felt relaxed, calm and found it a wonderfully nurturing experience. Since then, I have pampered myself by frequently getting massages.

The best-known benefits of massage are that it reduces stress, eases tension and clears the mind. It promotes relaxation and tranquility. Massage helps relieve back pain, neck pain from injuries, and strained and painful muscles. It can even improve athletic performance. Massage is soothing and sensual. It can help depression, anxiety and actually enhance your immune system. Touch is an essential emotional need. In a calm, safe setting, the benefits are substantial.

Massage is beneficial for many chronic problems that are in part caused by or aggravated by stress. Massage reduces pain, stiffness and fatigue, and improves sleep. There is also evidence that massage can improve the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, presumably by alleviating stress. It is also helpful as a component of therapy for chronic back pain. Research has shown that when administered by a well-trained masseuse, and in combination with physical therapy and pain medications, therapeutic massage is of great value and more effective than acupuncture.

Touch is one of the most important ways of communication, and lack of touch has a negative effect, causing loneliness and isolation. Americans virtually never touch each other. An interesting study done in coffee shops in various countries showed that in Puerto Rico couples touched each other 180 times an hour, and in Paris, it was 110. By contrast, in the United States, the average couple touched each other twice hourly, and in London, couples almost never touched.

Public displays of affection, or "PDA," as some of my best friends call it, is considered a cardinal sin. What a tragedy. Perhaps this is the reason massage is not more popular in the United States. We are resistant to massage therapy because of reluctance to be undressed and touched by strangers, and by viewing it quite erroneously as an erotic rather than therapeutic experience.

Touch by itself is very important and beneficial for individuals of any age. For example, premature babies given three 10-minute loving massages daily gain weight 47 percent more rapidly and leave the hospital earlier than those who are not massaged.

In patients with Alzheimer's disease, therapeutic massage and touch induce calm and reduce agitation and disruptive behavior. Nursing home residents who are frequently and therapeutically touched by trained staff remain healthier, lose less weight and are hospitalized less than those who are not.

One of the greatest benefits of owning a pet is the ability to touch and stroke it, and both give and receive unconditional love. These days, many nursing homes allow pets in their facilities and have outdoor farm animals and periods of actual pet therapy when residents are able to love and stroke cats or dogs.

As a new massage addict, I would recommend it to all who can afford it. Cost, in my view, is the only good excuse not to have a massage. Being too busy, too tired or too lazy are good reasons to have one. And if you cannot afford one, remember the important roles that touch plays in fostering happiness and health. Sit and hold hands in the movie theater and in restaurants. Never, ever leave the house without a hug and kiss, and sit together on the same couch at night while relaxing and watching TV.

And consider back and foot rubs. Who does not like them? We must always remember that many older people are isolated and deprived. Make sure you visit them frequently, and always touch and hug them, and hold their hands. Don't discourage older persons from having a pet just because of difficulties with upkeep. Choose an apartment building or assisted-living center that allows pets. Physical contact is an essential element of the way we interact with each other and promotes lifelong health and happiness.

Dr. David Lipschitz is the author of the book "Breaking the Rules of Aging." To find out more about Dr. David Lipschitz and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. More information is available at: DrDavidHealth.com.